Draft-rigging for railway-cars



' PATENTED-FEB.'9, 1904.

J. Af HINSON. DRAFTRIGGING POR. RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED APB.V 13. 1903.-

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

N0 IODEL.

gw/(151 Wl No. 751,983. PATENTE!) FEB. 9, 1904.

J. Al HINSON.

DRAFT RIGGING POB. RAILWAY GARS.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 13. 1903.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

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No. 751,983. PATENTED FEB. 9, 1904.

J. A.` HINSON.

DRAFT RIGGING FOR RAILWAY GARS.

APPLIUATION FILED un. 1a. 190s.

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UNITED STATES Patented February 9, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE.

DRAFT-HIGGINGKFOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 751,983, dated February 9, 1904.

Application filed April 13, 1903. Serial No. 152,354. (Nqgmoclel.)

T wl/Om t may @0W/WIW in the draw-bar yoke and act against the fol- Be it known that I, J AMES A. HINSON, of lower-barsDD through intermediate agencies Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of hereinafter to be described, whereby said Illinois, have invented certain new and useful springs act to resist in the usual manner the Improvements in Draft-Rigging for Railwaydraft and buiiing thrusts of the draw-bar and 55 Cars; and I do hereby declare that the followto restore the parts of the draft-rigging.

ing is a full, clear, and exact description there-V In addition to the springs FF for resisting of, reference being had* to the accompanying the draft and buiiing thrusts of the draw-bar drawings, and to the letters of reference I have provided an auxiliary spring device IO marked thereon, which form a part of this embracing in general terms two coacting 60 specification. wedge members which are forced or closed This invention relates to improvements in together by the draft and buiiing thrusts of draw-bar draft-rigging for car-couplers, and the draw-bar and a spring or springs applied refers more specifically to devices located beto the coacting parts of said wedge members f5 tween the draw-bar and the draft-sills for takand adapted to resist the closing movements of 65 ing up or absorbing shocks vtransmitted to the said wedge members. The auxiliary spring draw-bar in the tractive use of the car and or springs are so arranged that the parts or during the operations of coupling and also for members thereof bear upon each other in a lessening the recoil of the parts under the acmanner to produce friction between said parts tion of the spring or springs placed under tenduring the draft and bufling strains thereof, 70 sion. thereby supplementing the friction between In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of the contacting faces of the wedge members to the operative elements of a draft-rigging emresist the closing movement of said wedge bodying my invention, showing the draft-sills members.

in Section. Fig. 2 is a plan section thereof.' The essential or executive elements of the 75 Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of said parts. supplemental spring and friction devices above Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section taken mentioned may be embodied in a variety of on line 4L 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an inner face structural forms varying in their details, and view of one of the draft-plates. Figs.. 6 and I have herein shown one form which is a prac- 7 are side elevations of the spreading wedge tical and for some reasons a preferred form 8O members of the auxiliary spring device. Figs. of said device. 8 and 9 are inner end views of the wedge mem- As shown in said drawings, G Gr designate bers shown in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively. the wedge members referred to, which are Fig. l0 illustrates a modified form of the fricmade hollow and the latter located within the tion-spring. former, and H H' designate circular leaf- 85 As shown in said drawings, A A designate springs which surround the outer wedge memthe draft-sills, which are attached' to the under ber. One of said wedge members is provided sides of the longitudinal Hoor-frame sill B of with exterior conical-shaped bearing-surfaces, the car by bolts a. Said floor-sills and draftwhile the other is provided with correspondsills are shown as made ofiianged metal beams, ing interior bearing-surfaces and consists of 90. but may be made of wood. two laterally-separable parts, whereby when C designates the draw-bar of the coupler, the exteriorly-wedge-shaped member is forced and C the yoke thereof. thereinto said parts spread or expand against D D designate follower-plates which extend the resistance of said springs H H. The intransversely through the draw-bar yoke and ner wedge member consists of a fiat base or 95 engage at their end inwardly-openingpockets web g, Fig. 7, having oppositely-disposed informed in the draft-plates E E, which are atwardly-extending wedges g g', which are protached to the inner faces of the draft-sills. vided with exterior conical friction-faces. `IIhe F F designate inner and outer coiled ex- Wedgemember Grconsists of two similar parts,r

each consisting of a half base portion g3 and 10G pansively-acting springs which are contained a wedge g4, being arranged outside of the wedges g' of the wedge member G and provided with interior conical friction faces, against which bear the exterior conical faces of said wedge member G. The wedge member Gr' is made of separable parts to permit the parts thereof to spread laterally outwardly when the inner wedge member Gr is forced thereinto. Preferably, one of said wedge membersthe member Gr, as herein shown-is provided on its contact-faces with a wearing-pl ate g, which is made of a harder metal than that of the wedge member G'. Said wedge members are set between the follower-bars D D and within the draw-bar yoke C'. The bases of said wedge members are set flat against the follower-bars D, so that movement of said follower-bars is communicated directly to said wedge members. The separable wedge member G' may, if desired, be made of more than two parts to be spread radially in more than two directions. The bases of the wedge mems bers are shown as iiattened at their upper and lower sides to fit between the members of the draw-bar yoke, and the wedges of the inner wedge member, as the rigging shown is organized, are made of a width to fit closely between the members of said yoke. The springs F F' are contained between the wedges of said wedge members, the latter constituting an inclosure for said springs. Said springs bear at one end thereof against the base or web g of the inner wedge member G and at their other ends against a plate F2, which is fitted in a recess g' in the inner faces of the base members of the wedge member G', said plate being interposed between the springs and the wedge member by reason of the fact that it is undesirable that the springs shall bear directly against the laterally-movable base members.

The exterior contour of the wedges g2 of the wedge member G' is cylindric and against which bears the inner spring H'. Said springs H H' are each herein shown made of a single leaf, which almost, but not entirely, surrounds the outer wedge member G'. A preferred arrangement of said springs is to locate the space between the ends of one spring opposite to the space between the end of the other spring, the spaces between the springs being herein shown as located one at the'top and the other at the bottom of the device. Said springs extend above and below and surround the upper and lower members of the drawbar yoke C', as shown in Fig. 5. The inner spring H' is separated at its ends above the upper member of the draw-bar yoke, and the spring is held from rotation by means of av stop-block C2, which is attached to the upper face of the upper member of the draw-bar yoke. The outer spring H, which is located at its upper part outside of or above said block C2, is held from rotation by means of a stop-block A' between the ends thereof, which is attached to a horizontal longitudinally-extending bar A2, which latter is attached at its ends centrally to two transverse straps A3 A3, extending between and attached at their ends to the lower margins of the draft-sills. More than two of the surrounding springs, such as H and H', may be employed, if desired.

The draft-plates E are provided at their margins with upper and lower inwardly-extending iianges E' E2, which are provided, respectively, with centrally-located notches e2 e3, within which said springs H H' fit at their sides. Said notched flanges constitute means to prevent the springs from moving rearwardly during the buiing thrust of the draw-bar, as obviously if sai'd springs were unconiined they would move rearwardly with the wedge member Gr' at the time the latter is moved during the bufiing thrust of the draw-bar. The springs being thus held longitudinally immovable, the outer wedge member moves relatively to the inner spring H and in frictional contact therewith during such bufling thrust of the draw-bar and` during the restoring movement thereof. The lower flanges E2 of said draft-plates are made removable in order to facilitate the insertion and removal of the follower-bars.

In the operation of the draft-rigging it will be observed that the end thrust of the drawbar in either direction acts to force or close one of the wedge members against the other, one of said wedge members being held stationary during such thrust and the other being moved toward the stationary wedge member. The eifect of the closing of said wedge members together in this manner is to separate or move outwardly the two parts of the wedge member G' against the action of the surrounding springs H H', said springs resisting the closing of said wedge members together. The end thrust of the draw-bar is IOO resisted not only by the action of the springs 4 H H', but also by the action of the coiled springs F F' in the usual manner. The resisting capacity of the surrounding springs H H' against the closing movement of the wedge members extends beyond the resiliency of the springs, as said springs press together the conical friction surfaces of the wedge members and combine the frictional resistance thus developed with said spring resistance. Moreover, inthe form of springs H H' herein shown and other forms of springs which may be employed the parts or members of the springs bear and move upon each other during the draft and buiiing strains or during the time the springs are being expanded or opened outwardly, and the friction developed between the moving parts or members thereof resists the opening movement of the springs, and therefore supplements the spring resistance of said springs and the frictional resistance between the wedge members. By reason of the interposition of the plate F2 between the coiled springs F F' and the sep- IIO vannesk the parts of the wedge members is retarded or resisted by the friction between said base members and the plate F2011 the one side and the adjacent follower-bar on the other side, which aids to resist the end thrust of the drawbar. It will be observed, furthermore, that during the inward thrust of the draw-bar, such as occurs during the coupling of two cars, the separable wedge G moves relatively to the springs H H', so that there is developed between the inner spring H and the outer cylindric surface of the separable wedge member an additional friction, which acts to resist the end thrust of the draw-bar. When the stress of the end thrust of the draw-bar is released, the force of the compressed springs FF move outwardly or separate the wedge members and the force of the surrounding springs H H acts to close together the parts of the outer wedge member Gr when the inner wedge member is withdrawn therefrom, thereby restoring the parts of the device to their original positions. Y

In lien ofthe springs H H shown and described I may employ a single spiral -spring I, such asis shown in Fig. l0, which is adapted to be wound about the outer separable wedge member Gr' and acts in a manner similar to the springs H H to resist the opening movement of said outer wedge member. In this form of spring the several turns of the spring bear upon each other with frictional contact, as do the inner yand outer springs H H', before described.

It will thus be seen that my construction provides a draft-rigging of enormous capacity to resist draft and bufiing strains and that the parts are capable of exceedingly compact arrangement.

I claim as my inventionl. In a draft-rigging, the combination with the draw-bar, of wedge members which are closed together by the draft and buifmg thrusts of the draw-bar and a spring or springs inclosing and pressing together the coacting parts of said wedge members and resisting the closing movement of the wedge members.

2. In a draft-rigging, the combination with the draw bar, of friction wedge elements which are closed together by the draft and buiiing thrusts of the draw-bar and a singler spring which acts inwardly and oppositely against said wedge elements for pressing together said wedge elements and resisting their closing movement, said spring acting frictionally to resist the draft and bufling strains of the spring and the closing movements of the wedge elements.

3. In a draft-rigging, the combination with the draw-bar, of friction-wedges which are closed together by the draft and bufiing thrusts of the draw-bar, and a spring or springs for pressing said wedges together and resisting their closing movement, vsaid spring or springs embracing parts which are frictionally engaged and relatively movable during the draft and buliing strains brought thereon.

4. In a draft-rigging, the combination with a draw-bar, of wedge members which are closed together by the draft and buffmg thrusts 0f the draw-bar and a spring or springs inclosing and pressing rtogether the coacting parts of said wedge members and resisting their closing movement, the members of said spring or springs having frictional contact in such manner that the friction between said members resists the draft and buiiing strains of the spring or springs.

5. In a draft-rigging, the combination with a draw-bar, of wedge members having coacting friction-surfaces and one of which is hollow to receive the other, the outer wedge member being separable so as to be spread or expanded by the inner member and a spring or springs surrounding the outer member and resisting the expansion of said separable member, said spring or springs having members which overlap one on the other in frictional engagement, whereby the friction between said members resists ythe draft and buffing strains of the spring or springs.

6. In a draft-rigging, the combination with.

the draw -bar, of friction wedge elements which are closed together by the draft and buffing thrusts of the draw-bar,-spring elements for pressing together the wedge elements and resisting their closing movement, said spring elements embracing friction elements which resist `the draft and buling strains of the spring elements and means for separating said wedge elements when the draft and buifing stress is released.

7. In a draft-rigging, the combination with a draw-bar, of hollow wedge elements contained one within the other and having friction contact-faces, the outer wedge member being made separable to be spread by the inner wedge member, a spring or springs surroundving the outer member to resist the expansion thereof and a coiled spring acting against said wedge members in a manner to force the same apart.

8. In a draft-rigging, the combination with a draw-bar, of hollow friction-wedges, one contained within the other and provided with friction contact-faces, the outer wedge memberbeing made separable so as to be expandled by the inner member, a spring or springs surrounding the outer member and comprising parts or members which frictionally move one on the other during the draft and bufiing strains and a coiled spring acting against said wedge members in a manner to force the same apart.

9. In a draft-rigging, the combination with a draw-bar and its yoke, draft-plates attached to the draft-sills land follower-bars extendingv through said yoke and engaging pockets in IOO said draft-plates, of hollow friction-wedges contained one within the other and provided with friction contact-faces and bearing at their ends against said follower-bars, the outerf friction member being made separable so as to be expanded by the inner member, aspring or springs surrounding the outer wedge member and resisting the expansion of said outer wedge member, and a spring acting against said wedge members to force the same apart.

10. In adraft-rigging, the combination with a draw-bar and its yoke, draft-plates attached to the draft-sills and follower-bars extending through said yoke and engaging pockets in said draft-plates, of hollow friction-Wedges contained one within the other and provided with friction contact-faces and. bearing at their ends against said follower-bars, the outer friction member being made separable so as to be expanded by the inner member, a spring or springs surrounding the outer wedge member and resisting the expansion of said outer wedge member, said spring or` springs comprising members which have frictional engagement whereby the friction between said parts resists the draft vand bufling strains of said spring or springs, and aspring acting against said members to force the same apart.

11. In a draft-rigging, the combination with l the draw-bar and its yoke, draft-plates attached to the draft-sills and follower-bars extending through the yoke and engaging pockets in said draft-sills, of hollow friction-wedges one contained within the other and provided with friction contact-faces, and bearing at their ends against said follower-bars, the outer wedge member being made separable so as to be expanded by the inner wedge member, a spring or springs surrounding the outer wedge member and resisting the expansion thereof, a coiled spring acting against said wedge members to force the same apart and a plate interposed between one end of said spring and the end of the separable Wedge member.

12. In a draft-rigging, the combination with the draw-bar, of wedge members which are closed together by the draft and buifmg thrusts of the draw-bar and two curved leafsprings surrounding the coacting parts of said wedge members, one spring surrounding the other, the ends of said springs being separated, and the space between the ends of one spring being located on the side of the wedge members remote from the space between the ends ofthe other spring.

A13. In a draft-rigging, the combination with the draw-bar and its yoke, draftplates attached to the draft-sills and follower-bars extending through said yoke and engaging pockets in said draft-plate, of hollow wedge members contained one within the other and provided with friction contact-faces, the outer wedge member being made separable so as to be expanded by the inner wedge member, two curved leaf springs surrounding the outer wedge member, one spring surrounding the other, the ends of said springs being separated, and the space between the ends of one of said springs being located opposite to the space between the ends of the other spring and a spring interposed between said wedge members and acting to force the same apart.

14. In a draft-rigging, 'the combination with the draw-bar and its yoke, draft-plates attached to the draft-sills and follower-bars extending through said yoke and engaging' pockets in said draft-plates, of hollow wedge members contained one within the other being made separable so as to be expanded by the inner wedge member, two curved leaf-springs surrounding the outer wedge member, the ends of said springs being separated and the space between the ends of one of said springs being located opposite to the space between the ends of the other spring, a coiled spring interposed between said wedgemembers and acting to force the same apart, and stops located in the spaces between the ends of said springs for preventing rotation of the springs.

' 15. In adraft-rigging, the combination with the draw-bar and its yoke, draft-plates attached to the draft-sills, and follower-bars extending through the draw-bar and engaging pockets in said draft-plates, of hollow wedge members one contained within the other and provided with friction contact-faces, the outer wedge member being made separable so as to be expanded by the inner wedge member, a spring or springs surrounding the outer wedge member and acting to resist the expansion thereof and flanges on the draft-plates provided with notches adapted to receive the said surrounding springs at the sides of the draftrigging.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 11th day of April, A. D.

JAMES A. HINSON. Witnesses;

WILLIAM L. HALL, B. C. WHITE.

IOO 

